It is very hard to believe that 2009 is coming to a close! This has been a very busy and exciting year at CRH Medical Products Corporation. We have held over 135 training sessions in 20 states and the District of Columbia, and now have close to 400 of you utilizing our Technology! We have exhibited and have held symposia all over the country, including at DDW, ACG (national and regional meetings in FL and NV), “GO” Meeting in Seattle, TSGE in Houston, NYSGE in New York, and at the University of South Alabama, Duke, North Carolina and others!
We are very excited for 2010, as we have even bigger plans in store! We have expanded our training capacity, incorporated our “refresher” or “secondary” training sessions into our standard support system, and will be working with more regional and national meetings, along with Fellowship Programs, “Gut Clubs” and the like. In other words, my frequent flyer status is safe for another year!
In this issue of the Banding Bulletin, Dr. Neal Osborn of Atlanta Gastro has been kind enough to write an article describing the impact of integrating our Technology into his practice as well as to reflect on some of the “lessons learned” from his initial adoption. Below you will find the first portion of his article and we will publish the second half in the new year.
Over a year ago Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates became one of the first gastroenterology practices in the United States to employ the CRH O’Regan SystemTM in the outpatient setting. This was quickly followed by adoption of a similar treatment protocol in our endoscopy centers. Within a short time many gastroenterologists across the country were trained in the procedure by CRH Medical Products Corporation. The trend continues.
Patients come to us complaining of bleeding, burning or discomfort, but it is not life threatening. Because of the reputation of many of the hemorrhoid treatments available, most patients only seek medical care when the symptoms become unbearable. Finally, there is some good news for hemorrhoid sufferers. Thanks to CRH’s hemorrhoid banding technology, patients can be treated quickly, return to work the same day and resume normal activity with very little discomfort.
Traditionally, most gastroenterologists have not been trained to treat hemorrhoids other than by medical management of symptoms. However, now there is an option to effectively treat the underlying problem. The CRH O’Regan SystemTM utilizes Rubber Band Ligation to effectively treat patients with all grades of hemorrhoids. For most patients, two or three treatments are necessary to ablate all of the disease.
The advantages of this procedure are myriad: it is relatively painless, does not require anesthesia, lasts a minute or so, and is typically performed in the office or endoscopy suite. It is the only hemorrhoid removal treatment that requires no pain medication and little to no recovery time.
As a result of the interest in the procedure, we performed a prospective research study on the CRH O’Regan SystemTM in the outpatient setting. The findings were presented at Digestive Disease Week, last May. In more than 200 banding sessions with 113 patients, there were less than one percent complications. No patient required time off because of the procedure. Initial symptoms were resolved in 94% of patients. In fact, rectal bleeding resolved in 90% after at least one banding event. Three month follow up revealed a greater than 80% sustained improvement in initial symptoms. These results have held up over the past year, and in many cases the effectiveness is greater and the complications lower as the physician masters the learning curve.
Neal K. Osborn, M.D., M.Sc.
Our thanks to Dr. Osborn! The conclusion of this piece will be in the next “Banding Bulletin!”
Remember, CRH is offering all of the operational help that you might require, so you may benefit from the experience gained at our Centers for Colorectal Health.
Please let us know how we can help to support you and your practices moving forward — whether it be for training, consultation, operational, billing/coding or marketing support — we are here to help in any way we can! Please let me know if you would like a “refresher” session or if any colleagues might like to come online with us and we will be happy to schedule a visit with you.
On behalf of everyone at CRH, I’d like to wish you and your families a great Holiday Season and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!
Best regards,
Mitch
Mitchel Guttenplan, MD, FACS
Medical Director
CRH Medical Products Corporation
T: 800.660.2153 x1022 | C: 770.363.0125 | F: 770.475.9953
